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Lions keen to keep Mitchell’s coaching services
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
ZEENA ISAACS
Rugby Correspondent
THE Golden Lions Rugby Union has officially set its sights on securing former All Blacks coach and current Currie Cup coach John Mitchell as Super 15 head coach next season.
The union’s president, Kevin de Klerk, said yesterday that they were negotiating with Mitchell to stay on despite his contract with the Perth based Western Force franchise expiring only at the end of next year’s Super 15.
However, he said the final decision on Mitchell’s future lay solely in his Force bosses’ hands.
Should Mitchell succeed in escaping from his contract and remain in SA, he will replace Springbok back line coach Dick Muir as the Super 15 head coach, with Muir filling the role of the union’s director of rugby.
This could be exactly what the Lions need to discover winning ways, as continuity in coaching staff in the Currie Cup and Super 15 would erase the confusion of playing vastly different styles under Mitchell and Muir, and enable them to carry the momentum gained in the Currie Cup into the Super 15.
"We are negotiating with John to remain at the Lions," De Klerk said. "But this depends on whether there is a way out of his contract and if the Western Force will release him.
"If we are able to retain his services it would be a bonus because he is a good coach and it would assist us in recruiting a quality group of players to strengthen the union.
"If this materialises, Dick will be the director of coaching and John the head coach."
De Klerk said that although they had openly expressed their wish for Mitchell to remain at the Lions, they would not put pressure on him.
"John is a man of high morals and values and, similarly to him, we would like to follow the proper procedures for him to remain here," De Klerk said. "I can’t speak for him, but it looks as though he is enjoying his time at the Lions."
He said that apart from the visible improvement in the team’s performances under Mitchell’s leadership â€" during which the side has transformed from an unstructured and poor defensive team into a quality attacking and defensive unit and one that has commanded respect from the toughest Currie Cup teams â€" he has earned great respect from the players and the union’s staff alike.
"He has been an inspiration at the union," De Klerk said. "The feedback I have received from the players about their experiences of working with John has been very positive.
"The administrative staff also have great respect for him because of his values and high level of professionalism. So I am over the moon with what he has done in the little time that he has been here."
On a different note, De Klerk said the union’s bosses were working hard to see their plans to move from Ellis Park to Soccer City permanently materialise.
"We are doing our best to make progress in that regard, and now that most of the details of the Test between the Springboks and All Blacks at Soccer City have been finalised, we will be able to focus on that again," he said.
"We are meeting our equity partners and stakeholders next Monday to continue our discussions."
Meanwhile, the outcome of Springbok coach Peter de Villiers’s hearing for allegedly breaching Sanzar’s code of conduct following controversial comments to Fox TV on the away leg of the Tri-Nations â€" in which he hinted New Zealand’s success could be a plot to boost next year’s Rugby World Cup â€" is expected to be announced today.
De Villiers appeared at a disciplinary hearing in Cape Town last Friday and his fate was set to be made public yesterday. But the South African Rugby Union had not yet received a verdict from New Zealand by late yesterday evening.
isaacsz@bdfm.co.za
The feedback from the players has been very positive
http://www.newstime.co.za/Sport/Lion...services/9023/
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Originally Posted by travelling_gerry
for 2011 then both he and the board are serious.....
